


Help Me

by ladeedadaday



Series: Black Friday - Oneshots [10]
Category: Black Friday - Team StarKid
Genre: Angst, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Nonbinary Ethan Green, Other, Self-Harm, but I don't, cigarette burns, ethan's trying their best, i kinda like this, i'm not that sorry, lex needs help, this became way more angsty than i thought it was going to be sorry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-29
Updated: 2020-09-29
Packaged: 2021-03-07 19:48:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,339
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26693209
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ladeedadaday/pseuds/ladeedadaday
Summary: Lex is an overworked teenager that has too much responsibility, a terrible mother, an unhealthy mental state, and too little time to enjoy herself. Ethan is a dumbass teenager who's just trying their best to help their girlfriend and her sister. Lex needs a fucking break. Ethan is trying to give her that fucking break. Lex and Hannah's mother does not make that very easy.AKA: They love each other. A lot.
Relationships: Lex Foster & Hannah Foster, Lex Foster/Ethan Green
Series: Black Friday - Oneshots [10]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1777690
Kudos: 23





	Help Me

**Author's Note:**

> This was only supposed to be one chapter oops.

Despite what her manager Frank says, Lex Foster is doing her goddamn best to balance a full time job, having to take care of her sister, a relationship with the most incredible person she's ever met, and an okay relationship with her mother. She hasn't been doing the best on that last one recently. But she lets herself slide for that because her mother is actually impossible. 

As soon as she gets out of work, she heads over to the middle school to pick up Hannah and then takes her to the park. Occasionally, Ethan will meet the girls there, but not everyday since they have a job at their dad's auto mechanic shop. On the days Ethan's there, they talk with Hannah for a bit before letting her go off on her own, but not too far that Lex can't see her. Ethan hangs with Lex, whispering random cheesy things to her and teasing her when she blushes. Sometimes, Ethan lets her rest her head on their lap and fall asleep until Hannah wants to leave, but typically Lex will stay up for fear of something happening to Hannah without her knowledge. 

And then they go home. Sometimes to the trailer, sometimes to Ethan's. Ethan can only have them over when their mom isn't home, because she doesn't particularly like the idea of Ethan dating Lex. So, when she's not there, the three snuggle up on the couch and watch movie after movie until Lex sadly says they need to go home. Hannah always rests her head on Lex's shoulder, so Ethan wraps their arm around her waist so they aren't in the way of Hannah's head. It's little things like that which make Lex love Ethan even more. But today, Hannah went to talk to Ethan's father. She smiles at them, which they couldn't see until they turn their head to see her. 

"What're you smiling at?" Lex just shakes her head and cuddles closer to them. "Rude." Ethan jokes, pouting at her teasingly. 

She scrunches up her nose. "Guess." Lex smirks; she knows they wouldn't even know where to start. "You really wanna know?" She drops her voice to a whisper. Ethan nods eagerly. "Hmm... fine. I was just thinking about how much I love the little things you do. You didn't want to block Hannah from leaning her head on my shoulder so you held me by my waist instead. You're so good at little things like that, babe." 

"Aww, babe... thank you. Really, thank you." They smile, pulling her as close as possible. "I love you." They kiss her hair, smiling down at her like she's their world, because she truly is. Lex snorts. She absolutely doesn't believe that she deserves their love nearly as much as they do. "I do! Babe, look me in the eyes and tell me that you truly don't think that I love you." 

Lex shrugs. "Why would I do that babe? I love you, I just... It's stupid." Ethan takes her hand and looks at her as if she just broke their heart. "What? Why're you looking at me like that?" 

Ethan sighs. "Babe, you don't believe me. I can tell. You don't believe that I love you, do you?" They get all that they need to know from her reaction. She starts to tear up and she looks down at her hand on her lap. "Hey, I'm not angry. I just need to do better and that ain't your fault." 

They can tell that they said something wrong when she looks up at them with tears streaming down her cheeks. "You didn't do anything wrong, babe. It's _my_ fault. You're just so good to me and I don't feel like I deserve the happiness I get from being with you." Lex admits. The second she's done, Ethan scoops her into their arms and holds her so tight she feels like she can't breathe. 

They want to cry but they know it wouldn't be helpful to either of them. "Lex Foster, you deserve the world and even more than that because you're a fucking incredible human being. Whatever or whoever made you think you don't deserve happiness can say hello to my fuckin' fists, okay? Because you don't deserve to be told that you shouldn't be happy. That's fuckin' insane, alright? I love you, I'm in love with you, and I love you to the moon and back and don't let anyone tell you that you don't deserve that." They take both of her hands in their own and look her in the eyes. "I love you." They say, it's the only thing they can at this point. 

"I love you, too," She sobs. "I love you so much." Lex can't stop herself, but she doesn't want to. It feels so good to finally let everything out. "And I'm so so sorry that I can never stop crying." She wipes her eyes and laughs. "I'm so fucking stupid, I'm sorry."

They push her hair behind her ear, the little piece never quite stays but they push it back anyway. "Lex... do you think this has something to do with... you know, your mom?" She shrugs. "I've seen how she treats you, and... I ain't good at brain shit, but that can't be good for you. I just... babe, I really hate seein' you hurt. I can't even understand why you think you deserve less than the whole fuckin' world. One day, I promise, we're going to get out of this hellhole and go to California, and Hannah will be safer there, and your mom won't be there, and we could start over. We wouldn't be trailer trash anymore, we'd just be regular trash." This draws a chuckle from Lex. 

"Thank you. Truly, thank you for being my partner. Thanks for not running when I show up with bruises and burns... and thank you for being so good to me and Hannah." Wow, their heart just exploded with love for her. They smile incredibly wide, and she matches that grin. She leans on their shoulder, sighing. 

They wrap their arms around her and whisper, "Of course. I'll always be here. I love you so much." They kiss Lex's cheek over and over until she turns her head to kiss them on the lips. "I can't wait to marry you," They whisper against her lips. She pulls back, smiling. "You didn't hear that, did you?" Lex shakes her head, but Ethan doesn't fully believe her but they leave it be. "Everything's going to be just fine." 

"Ethan, bud, your mother's getting back from work in about five minutes." Their father warned the pair, Hannah peeking out from behind him. "You guys might wanna head out." Ethan and Lex nod, both of them standing up. Ethan kept their arm around Lex's waist. Lex reached out her hand for Hannah to grab onto. 

"Banana, we gotta go home." Lex says. Ethan can hear in her voice just in those five words all the pain that being in her "home" has caused her. Hannah whines quietly. "I know, I know, but we can't stay here. Ethan's mom doesn't like me very much." She admits. "I promise, I'll keep you safe if she's there. I won't let anyone hurt you, you know that, right?" 

Ethan grins at Hannah. "We'll protect you. And, babe? If she starts on you, do I have permission to protect you?" They could see the question processing in her brain. 

"If it gets bad. But I can handle it." She insists, opening the door and stepping through it. "And don't start on me with the 'but you shouldn't have to' bullshit. I know I shouldn't, but this is my life." Ethan kisses the top of her head and then sighs. "Can we not talk about this stuff in front of Hannah, please?" Lex mumbles. They nod, brushing their fingers softly over the bruise on her neck. She hums. "I really need to cry." 

Ethan's taken by surprise. She's never this open. "Okay, okay, that can happen. That's okay, babe. It's alright. We're gonna get you to somewhere safe so you can cry, okay?" Lex nods, looking down at her feet. "We're almost at the trailer park. Um, you want me to carry you?"

"No, I'm fine with walking. I'm going in first." She insists, walking a little faster. Ethan catches her hand. "Please don't try to convince me otherwise, I genuinely don't think I'll be able to sleep tonight if I let you do it." Lex stares at them for a moment, eyebrows raised. They give in. What? She can be extremely terrifying sometimes, it's just part of who she is.

"I'll stay with Banana." They offer. Lex carefully steps inside the trailer. As soon as Ethan hears a quiet hiss and Lex crying softly, they know to get Hannah out of there as fast as possible. "C'mon, we're gonna go talk to Ms. Lee." Their neighbor. Ethan knew Ms. Lee would keep Hannah safe, and she liked Lex, so she probably wouldn't make her pay. 

Hannah's sitting on a couch, happily coloring a picture of a cat, so Ethan feels comfortable slipping out to check on Lex, and potentially beat up her mother if need be. " _Fuck, stop it!_ " They hear Lex scream. It's not a sound Ethan likes to hear, but it's one they're familiar with hearing. "Please, I don't even have your stash!" Ethan mentally kicks them self for not having run in yet. 

They try to come in as quietly as they can, but they're pretty sure that their heavy, frantic breathing is giving them away. Lex is leaning against the wall, curled into herself and sobbing. A hand shaped bruise was forming on her jaw and by the way she was clutching the back of her hand, they could tell that her mother had probably burned her with a cigarette. It hurts to see the girl they love in pain, but it's not useful to think about it rather than doing something about it. "Lexie?" They whisper. She looks up, fresh tears shimmering in her eyes. Ethan gestures for her to come closer to them. She looks around for her mother and then falls into Ethan's arms. "Let's get you out of here, hm?" They let her lean on them as they guide her out of the wretched place she knows as home. 

The couple sits outside Ms. Lee's place so they can talk without disturbing Hannah. They've been sitting in silence for a few minutes but Ethan doesn't mind. Lex is ready to talk when she's ready to talk. "I'm scared." That's the first time Ethan's ever heard her say that out loud. "I'm scared of being scared because it means I'm not in control and that's terrifying. I can't control what my mother does and I don't know how to stop her." 

"Lexie, babe, you talk about her like she's some sort of super villain. I don't care what my mom thinks about you, it's not safe for you to stay with that woman anymore." Ethan says. Lex looks up at them, pure fear in her eyes. They wish they could take it all away, but there's only so much kisses and hugs can do. "I won't let my mom talk to you the way I know she probably would, it can work until we get out of here." Then an idea strikes them. "Wait, what if you didn't have to see her at all...? My uncle. He lives in the safest place on the island, your mom would never be able to hurt you there." 

This gives her a little bit of hope. "Really? You think it'll work?"

"Well, Webby's got the final verdict, of course, but it definitely could." Ethan chuckled softly. Lex smiled, proud that Ethan had acknowledged Webby, as joking as they might've been. "I'll call him." They pull their phone from their pocket and look for their uncle’s contact in their phone. They haven't spoken to him since they came out... this probably won't go well. _I'll just warn him,_ They decide. "Hey, Uncle Henry!" 

A crash comes from the other end. "Uh, who-- who is this?" Henry shouts over the phone. "Last I recall, I'm not an uncle."

"Um, you are... It's me, Ethan. Uh, your sister's... child." They wince internally, maybe this won't be as smooth as they thought. 

Hidgens didn't say anything for a little bit. Ethan could hear water pouring. "Loraine's child. Okay. I'm embarrassed to say I forgot she had you, my apologies. God, this is going to sound like such a dick move, what's your name?" Ethan laughs and sighs in relief. 

"No, it's cool. It's Ethan." Lex looked at him, smiling a little bit, still crying, and clearly still in a lot of pain. "Uh, this feels weird to ask and I'm really sorry but, um, my girlfriend's mother ain't exactly the best to her and I was wondering if she could stay with you for a night..." 

"Of course she can! They can stay as long as they need to. You're included in that, if you're ever unsafe at home." Hidgens promises. "So, you have a girlfriend? What's she like?" Ethan's surprised at how teenage-like Hidgens manages to make himself sound. 

Ethan laughs awkwardly. "Uncle Henry, she's right here." Lex snickers, and Ethan hands her the phone. 

"Uh, hi. I'm Lex. I'm Ethan's girlfriend." She says, sniffling. She attempts to cover up her crying but she's aware Hidgens is smart enough to figure it out. She looks to Ethan with a desperate look and hands back over the phone. "I don't know what to say." She mouths. 

"That's alright, babe," They mouth back. "Hey, me again. When should we head over?" 

Hidgens hums on the other end of the phone. "In about thirty minutes? I've gotta go pick someone up." Ethan nods, and then realizes that it doesn't work over a phone call. 

"Okay. Thank you. We'll see you soon." 


End file.
